Return to Santa; is Christmas back?

It’s official, last year’s Christmas was the shittest in living memory.

However, here we are at the beginning of November, nearly a year later, longing for those heady days when all we had to worry about was dying of Covid. 

Those [brands] who’ve survived will be desperate to make the most of whatever budgets they can scrape together. 

The slow-motion car crash that is the combination of the pandemic and Brexit (there should be a name for it: Covit? Brexid?) is the unwanted gift that keeps on giving. Especially for the retail sector, for which the last 18 months has been basically one massive Squid Game. It’s been agonising to witness the demise of those who didn’t enter the pandemic fit and strong. 

And this Christmas, the most critical trading period of the year, those who’ve survived will be desperate to make the most of whatever budgets they can scrape together. 

Above: Asda has embraced the spirit of Christmas in 2021 and asks us to say 'Baubles' to last year.

To do so, they will, as usual, need to demonstrate relevance to their customers via insight into their needs, wants and desires. Whilst, in the past, that’s been pretty straightforward (joy, togetherness, love... yadda yadda), this year there’s a little more for brands to wrap their heads round: People have died. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, children. 

Even if we avoid a last-minute lockdown this year, hanging over us will be the dread of giving our loved ones more than a nice pair of socks.

There will be empty seats around the Christmas table. Cases are rising, with still scary amounts of hospitalisations and deaths. Even if we avoid a last-minute lockdown this year, hanging over us will be the dread of giving our loved ones more than a nice pair of socks. Long Covid is a bastard. Just surviving the disease can come at a high personal cost.

As if all that weren’t enough, the disappearance of jobs has left many family incomes decimated, whilst petrol and household fuel prices are at an all-time high, and inflation is on its way up, leaving more people with less to spend.

Above: Supply chain issues and staff shortages could have a knock on effect on the availability of many products. 

Despite the above, having basically skipped a whole festive season last year, everyone’s desperate for the biggest and best Christmas they’ve ever had. Ordinarily, of course, this massive pent-up demand would be amazing news for the retailers. But supply chain and warehousing staff shortages leading to the spectre of empty food and toy shelves, and inevitable higher prices, mean there’s a real danger of seasonal campaigns over-promising and under-delivering. Driving demand for products that won’t exist or be too expensive to afford.

Ho-fucking-ho.

There’s a real danger of seasonal campaigns over-promising and under-delivering.

Companies that can afford to will no doubt be hedging their bets in order to mitigate reputational damage; twin-tracking Christmas campaigns, ready to switch to the one that becomes most relevant to whatever situation arises.

When it comes to messaging, this year’s festive campaigns will undoubtedly see some brands trying to prove their relevance with demonstrations of their commitment to sustainability, diversity and inclusion, mental health and corporate social responsibility. 

And whilst those topics are worthy and incredibly important, when it comes to this particular Christmas, brands might want to take heed of some of the above insights and avoid anything that might appear too earnest or self-serving.